Hoshor Plains Well, I've been fucking up since '94

Those things happen. No need to apologize.

Tohka bounded through the tall grass, nose to the ground and tail wagging loosely behind her. It wasn’t that she didn’t pay attention to where she was going, but her field of vision was too narrow. She focused on the various smells on the ground and lost track of the bigger picture of what was going on around her. She had managed to sniff out and catch a groundhog for a quick meal, but aside from that, she just followed whatever scent trail caught her fancy. She followed a coyote trail for a bit before being distracted by a pair of fox scents. After that she caught the faint scent of an elk, which she followed for a short distance before losing the trail entirely.

The good thing about traveling with her nose to the ground was that the rock trolls that liked to hide in the tall grass and trip her up didn’t catch her by surprise this time. The bad thing was that she overlooked other potential hazards, like the other wolf who was suddenly standing there, near her. The other might have been aware of her presence, but Tohka couldn’t tell. She eyed the other curiously, immediately noticing that her face didn’t seem to go with her body. The white face reminded her of the snow she had enjoyed during the winter at home with her family- youthful and seemingly unblemished. The rest of her seemed more chaotic- the black stripe down her back, various scars, the missing hind leg that wasn’t quite masked by the tall grass, and the notch in her ear. A yearling with a healthy imagination and a love for stories couldn’t help being drawn in by her as she appeared to gaze into the distance. She couldn’t help wondering what wisdom might lay behind those chocolate eyes.

She quickly realized she had been unintentionally staring at the other and quickly averted her gaze, looking into the grass at her feet. She lowered her and tail. “Excuse me, ma’am,” she said softly, “I… uh… I hope I’m not bothering you. I… I guess I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going.” She gave a gentle wag of her tail.